Mayors Innovation Project

We are so very excited to invite you to join us Wednesday, Jan. 15 - Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025 in Washington D.C. for the Mayors Innovation Project Winter Policy Meeting! This year we’ll be celebrating our 20th Anniversary, and we’re more committed than ever to centering our values of equity, sustainability, and democracy in city policymaking. We invite you to celebrate 20 years of MIP by joining us for two days of networking and policy sessions designed to send you home with fresh ideas and new friends and partners to support you. This year’s conference will include discussions on climate resilient infrastructure, creating inclusive and welcoming communities, reducing barriers to community wealth building, and a special workshop on improving mayor-council communications. We’ll also host a briefing on the results of our 2024 research project, summarizing the top challenges and opportunities that mayors shared with us and the ways our network is working to meet those challenges. Learn more and register today: https://bit.ly/MIP-W25!

??? ?? There's just five weeks left to obligate American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds! The American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law by President Biden in spring 2021, was designed to provide direct funding to cities, towns, and villages to help them respond to and recover from the impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic. Since that time, cities have responded to this unprecedented direct funding with a slew of innovative programs designed to invest in long term resilience and to support sectors and communities particularly impacted by the pandemic. Our latest feature highlights some of the most innovative uses of ARPA funding, including the expansion of affordable housing, investments in digital equity, and workforce training. We encourage communities with remaining ARPA funds to obligate and expend this money quickly. Read a recap of some of the most innovative ARPA investments to celebrate or steal today: https://bit.ly/3CBR9AB!

Whether we notice it or not, municipal services improve our daily lives—every single day. That’s why, as a part of the largest-ever Mayors Challenge, we’re giving 25 cities $1 million each and operational support to transform an essential city service for their residents—bringing new, bold ideas to life. Cities worldwide with populations of 100,000 residents or more are encouraged to apply by December 20, 2024: https://lnkd.in/esb9kJRQ

The United States has the?highest maternal mortality rate?of any high-income nation, with the rate being highest for Black women.?The vast majority of these deaths are preventable, but the US lacks maternity care providers, after birth home visits and paid parental leave policies to protect and support parents. Our latest Member City Spotlight ?? featuring Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird of the City of Lincoln – Lincoln, Nebraska shares how Lincoln's Family Connects Program aims to support and increase access to healthcare for young families and the City's littlest residents. Read the full spotlight on our website: bit.ly/MCS-LNE!

Happy Halloween??! Each year, nearly 1 million people visit Salem, MA during the month of October to celebrate the holiday and participate in festivities. Today on the last day of #PedestrianSafetyMonth, we bring you highlights from the City of Salem, MA Mayor Dominick Pangallo on how he is working to improve safety for residents and all who visit the iconic city! Mayor Pangallo spoke about Salem’s unique challenges as a nearly 400 year old city working to strike the right balance between updating infrastructure to increase safety and mobility and maintaining the City’s historic character. Salem has a Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program that uses a Traffic Calming Priority Tool to determine how City resources are allocated. The tool uses four categories: demographics, land use proximity, crashes, and speeds/volume to measure which areas of the city are deemed highest priority. This ensures that resources are distributed equitably as areas with high population density and vulnerable populations such as older adults, people experiencing poverty, and neighborhoods of color are given higher priority. Once priority is determined, the City can install traffic safety measures on the streets that need them most. Mayor Pangallo emphasized the importance of cities creating inclusive processes and ample opportunities for vulnerable populations to engage in the planning process and share their feedback. “Whether it’s a road safety or a development project or some other kind of community planning effort that the City might be engaging in, [it’s important] that you’re talking to that vulnerable population and that you’re not just reducing it to a score in an algorithm. [It’s important] that you’re actually meeting with them,” said Mayor Pangallo. Watch Mayor Pangallo’s full interview here: https://lnkd.in/e68jE799 and read more about Salem’s Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program here: https://lnkd.in/ejsSy3b5. To learn more about the MIPS partnership between MIP, AARP Livable Communities, and Smart Growth America and to hear what MIPS cohort members are doing to promote safer streets in their communities, visit our Youtube channel or check out our website: bit.ly/MIPS2024! ???? ?? ??

It’s the second to last day of #PedestrianSafetyMonth! To commemorate the month, we’re highlighting the 10 mayors in our 2024 Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety (MIPS), a partnership between MIP, Smart Growth America, and AARP Livable Communities. Today we’re featuring the Mayor of the City of Chattanooga, TN, Mayor Tim Kelly! Mayor Kelly stressed the urgent need for safer streets in Chattanooga, especially in underserved communities. “People’s lives are literally at stake. Addressing pedestrian safety specifically as it relates to underserved and underrepresented populations is a really important priority for us and so that is precisely how we’re looking at it,” said Mayor Kelly. Mayor Kelly also spoke about how MIPS gave him reassurance to push for more innovative solutions to move the needle on pedestrian safety. “There is a lot of conventional thinking in this space that would tell you that there’s certain things that can’t be done or shouldn’t be done. Seeing other cities using them and using them successfully to save lives and increase economic activity and walkability… is extremely encouraging and important.” We’re excited to watch MIPS cities continue to lean on each other to implement innovative pedestrian safety solutions for many years to come! Watch the full video here: https://lnkd.in/dxx5fcu3. To learn more about the MIPS partnership and to hear what MIPS cohort members are doing to promote safer streets in their communities, visit our Youtube channel and check out our website: bit.ly/MIPS2024!

Child care in America has long had issues as costs are steep for providers and parents. In most US states, child care costs exceed the cost of college tuition. Today on the #InternationalDayOfCareAndSupport ??, we bring you a new Good Ideas for Cities feature on how cities and local governments are implementing innovative ways to make child care more affordable and accessible: https://bit.ly/GIFC-cc. From property tax rebates for in-home child care providers to TIF districts to working with property owners to open child care centers in unexpected places, read the feature to learn how cities are addressing the child care shortage.

Next up for our #PedestrianSafetyMonth highlights is 2024 MIPS cohort member City of Jackson, TN Mayor Scott Conger! Mayor Conger shared tips for mayors looking to get started on pedestrian safety improvements in their city. “If a mayor wants to make pedestrian safety a priority in their city they just need to start having that conversation… I can guarantee you that there are others in your community that want to make pedestrian safety a priority. Finding those runners, those bicyclists, those who utilize the streets now that may not feel as safe—they have ideas. Talking with them can really get it going and get that conversation started.” Additionally, Mayor Conger emphasized that improvements in walkability and pedestrian safety don’t just benefit one group, they improve safety and the quality of life for the whole community. “If you look at young families and you look at those who are older, they need the same thing[s] with accessibility. They need sidewalks, they need ramps [to be able] to move with ease,” said Mayor Conger. “If we make travel easier for everyone, then it creates an opportunity for everyone.” Watch Mayor Conger’s full video here: https://lnkd.in/edBXke4Y. To learn more about the MIPS partnership between MIP, AARP Livable Communities, and Smart Growth America and to hear what MIPS cohort members are doing to promote safer streets in their communities, visit our Youtube channel or check out our website: bit.ly/MIPS2024! ?? ?? ????

There’s just one week left in #PedestrianSafetyMonth! Today, we’re featuring Mayor John Vieau of City of Chicopee, MA, a member of our 2024 Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety cohort. ? Mayor Vieau shared about his commitment to improving pedestrian safety in his community stating, “safety is paramount to the City of Chicopee and as mayor I’ve been really focused on making sure people feel safe in our community… Being a blue collar city, [many residents] rely on their feet to get around.” Additionally, Mayor Vieau highlighted some of the ways the City is making streets safer, including the implementation of road diets, speed tables, and a pace car that drives around school zones in the mornings and afternoons in an effort to make people aware of their speeds and slow them down. ? Mayor Vieau also emphasized the importance of peer learning and the value of being in a cohort like MIPS. “I’ve learned so much just from being in this conference for two days and collaborating with my peers and the experts that they’ve brought in... Collaborating with your peers on a national level versus just a Massachusetts level is invaluable. I’ve learned so much in just a short period of time,” said Mayor Vieau. ? Watch Mayor Vieau’s interview here: https://lnkd.in/gvz2mBS2. To learn more about the MIPS partnership between MIP, AARP Livable Communities, and Smart Growth America and to hear what MIPS cohort members are doing to promote safer streets in their communities, visit our Youtube channel or check out our website: bit.ly/MIPS2024!

It’s the third week of #PedestrianSafetyMonth and this month we’re highlighting the work of the 10 mayors in our 2024 Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety Cohort. Today we’re showcasing Mayor Lauren McLean, the Mayor of the City of Boise, ID.? ? Mayor McLean shared several ways Boise is working to reduce traffic fatalities and build safer streets including the establishment of the City’s Traffic Fatality Review Task Force, the City’s first ‘slow zone’, and construction of elevated, separated bikeways.? ? Mayor McLean explained how Boise’s Traffic Fatality Review Task Force brings together various stakeholders including law enforcement, road agencies, and the City to study where traffic fatalities are happening and recommend solutions to prevent future fatalities. “Out of that task force, we’ve seen recommendations to look at red light cameras to enforce red lights. We have had recommendations that [the City] create more breaks between where pedestrians are—and should be and have a right to be—and the cars that are driving on those roads,” said Mayor McLean. Those recommendations have helped support Boise’s goal of building a safer, more welcoming city for all.? ? The Mayor also stressed that a key component of finding solutions is community engagement and meeting people where they’re at. “Having community meetings [and] discussions in a more casual form in parks, at grocery stores, near schools, or even in senior facilities and other places within your city [allows you] to have conversations about how people get around, what people need, what they want, and then work with the partners in our community to make that happen,” said Mayor McLean. ? View Mayor McLean’s full interview on our Youtube channel here: https://lnkd.in/gYtVqW8R and learn more about Boise’s safer streets initiatives here: https://lnkd.in/gGru2Eq5. To learn more about the MIPS partnership between MIP, AARP Livable Communities, and Smart Growth America, check out our website: bit.ly/MIPS2024!